Homebrew Classes. We all have them. This is your 15 minutes of fame...

For the benefit of everyone here on P&PG, please share your homebrew classes with the rest of us, including the edition, if applicable. Remember folks, all rpgs are welcome.

What share you?

yukonhorror

05-04-2009, 04:35 PM

don't have it handy, but I did make a couple of nifty homebrew classes for 3.5 DND.

One was a brigand. Sort of in the light of mel gibson's character in payback. He got DR, AC bonus due to high con, unarmed dam, high HP, thief stuff, the alternative rage featured in unearthed arcana, and really good perception.

Another one was a hybrid of a ton of homebrew dragoon classes. Leaping, able to improve dex max in heavy armor (and reduce penalties).

Another one was my own take on kensai. Probably over powered, but it is basically a combination of all of the weapon focus feats, no armor, and some ki powers.

Another (again probably too overpowered) was a mimic. It was a lot of wildshaping (but could do any creature type eventually) and ways to augment wildshaping, but he had a neat ability to mimic extraordinary/supernatural/spell-like atks. I.e. if he saw pounce used, he could use pounce (if roll high on know check). If he saw a dragon use a breath weapon, he could use a breath weapon.

Finally, the most powerful one (probably, never got a chance to playtest it), is a jedi. He had psionics to resemble force powers and his pick of a martial style from tome of battle (to reflect his jedi fighting style).

Don't remember the SW names for the styles, but I think they were numbered.

Basically, you only could choose maneuvers and stances from one style.

If anybody is interested in a copy of any of these, PM me.

Malruhn

05-04-2009, 11:46 PM

I have a homebrew arcane caster prestige class. It was stolen from Dragonlance and Raistlin/Wizards of the Towers of High Sorcery.

I have to preface this with a house rule that gives arcane casters two sets of hit points - physical (d4, per the book) and arcane (1d6/level), which are ONLY for arcane spells. Say I have a 10th level wizard with max hit points (40/60). If he gets hit with a 40 hp lightning bolt, he then has 40/20. A second 40 hp lightning bolt gets him to 20/0. If the fully healed wizard gets slammed by a big mace for 20 hit points, he has 20/60. A second slam and he's unconscious. This allows for longer magical battles.

Up to attaining fifth level, you must take a test that will leave you different than normal... and upon passing it, you gain the next level. Your magical hit dice get changed from a d6 to a d12, and all dice are re-rolled at this time. Physically, however, you gain ONE HIT POINT. Unfair, you say? Just wait!!

Also, you automatically multi-class as a (insert your base class here)/wizard, and start tracking levels at the same time as your base class (there's no xp involved, you go up a level, both classes level up). This secondary wizard class get's FULL spell casting capability, which greatly increases the number of spells he can cast. Also, all spells are cast at the base spell-caster's level.

Then, when the second wizard class gets up to where he first got it, he then gains ANOTHER Wizard class... and on and on. A couple of examples can help see all this...

Here's Smilin' Bob, the 3rd level Wizard who just passed his Test. His spell are as follows (arbitrarily, he has a 16 INT):
Class: level/number of spells
Base: 0x4/1x3/3x2
New Wizard class: 0x3/1x2
So at 3rd level, he has 0x7/1x5/2x3

And on average, this guy has 140 or so magical hit points - so can last for phreaking EVER in a magical battle!!

And to bring him back to humanity, he has a MAX of 34 physical hit points (considering an 18 CON). He only got 1d4 on levels one and two - and only gets one hit point per level after that. A jerk with a sword is still a REAL threat!

This class was created because of all the fantasy stories I've read about wizards. They had epic magical battles that lasted for DAYS, and a good blast with a mace and they were toast. A thief with a sneak attack and they were done so bad they were DUN!!

It's been play tested several times and it ROCKS! :D

MortonStromgal

05-05-2009, 12:32 AM

Actually... I've never had the desire to make a homebrew class, everytime I thought about doing it we would just play something other than D&D :confused: not sure if thats good or bad. Never made my own Vampire or whatever either. The closest thing is we aways just used the priority system rather than picking an archtype in shadowrun but we didnt name them or anything.

Umiushi

05-05-2009, 06:43 AM

From a long, long time ago: "shadow druids" for first edition AD&D. I'm probably better off not remembering them, but oh well. They loved the inanimate aspects of nature over the living ones. Their spell list had negative energy and elemental magic combined with some choice selections from regular druidic magic, like Warp Wood and Anti-Animal Shell. In my first campaign setting, there was a plane a lot like 4th Edition's Shadowfell (since it is pretty archetypal), and that's where the shadow druids came from.

Dytrrnikl

05-06-2009, 03:20 AM

Back in 2E DnD, I created the Mystic Warrior. It combined elements of Rogue, Psionicist, and the Oriental Adventures Monk. It had the Priest THAC0, hit points as a Rogue, had a the ability to use psionics, but had access to only one discipline, had the capability to fight unarmed, and had a few of the Rogue's abilities - Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, and Climb Walls. It's major class feature was it's Mystic Sword. They were able to pull the latent psionic and arcane energy of a group of people and fashion it into a weapon approximately like a long sword. It increased damage at 7th and 14th level and was quasimagical. It was my cheesy way of making a Jedi-like class for DnD. It took me three different incarnations, but they eventually sort of fell into the jack-of-all-trades for combat.

I also created the Swordancer class, also for 2E. A fighter class that had d8 for HP, Fighter THAC0, and major class feature was something similar to the Bi'nelle Dasada (probably mispelled) fighting technique from the Touelfar Woodsman class of the Demonwars saga. They also gained the ability at 9th level to have achance to reflect spells back at casters if they were the target of the spell, and an evasion like ability for area effect spells like Fireball.

Umiushi

05-06-2009, 04:55 AM

Wow, I almost forgot my Chef class from first edition. Strictly NPC-only, though. The party used to hang out at a tavern run by an 8th level ogre chef. It's been so long I don't remember the details, but it was definitely inspired by classes like the alchemist.

templeorder

05-06-2009, 09:43 AM

The full 3.0 prestige class of "Wayfarer" can be seen here:
http://www.incarna.net/iweb/host/kelly/rpgs/sys/adnd/milieu/shadow/

1: Each day the character is able to use the indicated level of Protection and Travel priest Domain spells once. Explanation of Abilities

•Calming: The Wayfarer is able to calm the rage, beserk fury or frenzied mentality of a number of character levels/HD (divided between any number of beings within 30') equal to their own. Simple animals or even angry vegetative life recieve no save to avoid the effect. The ability can even stop a charging horse. Others recieve a WILL save. The hatred/mood/frenzy will pass if it was created through circumstantial means (heated debate, fear, accidental contact, etc.). If the state was produced by spell, a hatred, or physical repulsion, it can only be temporarily (1 round) dispelled.
•Divine Defense: All weapons used in defense (not to initiate combat, but in response) are considered blessed (+1 attack/"+1" vs. who it can hit).
•Mending: As per the Orison; 1/ day per 3 class levels
•Alarm: As per the spell; 1/day per 4 class levels
•Animal Guide: Summons 1 normal animal (max HD = class level/2) to serve as a guide for the character. The range of the guide is 1 mile per class level, and the animal (best determined by the DM) must logically have decent knowledge of the area. It will understand all spoken requests of the Wayfaer and be able to communicate using movement, gestures and empathy.
•Create Marker: 1/day the Wayfarer can create a half strength Continual Flame (per spell). They can dispel these flames at will if within 10". The Wayfarer is a guardian of the roads and travelers. Her common concern is the safe travel of people, goods and beasts. The Wayfarer is a spreader of tales and knowledge, a kind face to those facing long, lonely journeys. They are not loners or aloof. Quite the opposite, they interact with everyone to make sure perils are know injuries are few and the law to ensure the well-being of all.
Multi-class Bards and Fighters, Rangers and Priests (specialty) make good Wayfarers. Traveling far and wide leaves little rooms for permanent labs and libraries, and it is rare the a magus of any sort becomes a Wayfarer.
Hit Dice: D8
Requirements:
Alignment: LN, LG
Skills: At least 3 languages and literate, Heal 2, Wilderness Lore 6
Attributes: CHA 10, INT 10
Race: Human, Half-Elf, Elf, Halfling
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Track
Spell Casting: Ability to cast divine spells
Other: At least 1/3 of all income and wealth must go to support of travlers hostels, medical aid, road repairs, shrines, or as a tithe to the chuch to facilitate this.

I've done this as well. Rather than post every detail The link is a PDF document.

Character Classes (http://phoenixinn.iwarp.com/fantasy/fantpdf/04_Manual_Classes.pdf)

nijineko

05-14-2009, 04:36 PM

hmmm, i made one once... where did that go.... ah, here it is, but first, some backstory:

well, let me give a bit of history of the development. the character in question is a beloved character of mine (as a side bit of trivia-my wife like the character name so much she let me give it to my son as his middle name!) one which i have worked on for years.

he is Path (of Ursalia), which for those who don't get the reference is an ancient lost city, a mountain-top citadel made of stone, and thought to be a repository of secrets long lost. he is from this city, which in the campaign world, is still inhabited-if by grey elves-rather than the race from the reference. ^^

now these grey elves are typical of the sub-race, even other elves think them snotty, uppity, reclusive, and exclusive to the extreme-if not outright xenophobic; rather anti-social, and full of airs of superiority. Path grew up in a community of these elves. however, he managed to avoid the superiority complex due to reasons you will read and does not look down on others, even if those others may assume or think that he does.

how, you ask? well, it's really his great-grandfathers fault. you see, his grandfather had the audacity and poor judgement to go "insane" and marry outside of the community.... and to a grugach (wild elf) no less. how uncivilized! oh, what scandal! they still talk about it to this day, if behind Path's back. it would not have been so bad, if Path had not a ravenlock of hair, deep deep black among the otherwise golden strands of his hair. a clear sign of his grugach heritage....

so poor Path, shunned and ostracized by his own... picked on and tormented by the others in his generation kept him rather humble. his developing combativeness and strength eventually put an end to the outright physical abuse.

but his peace was short lived. new torments were in store for him. as with every grey-elf child, he was tested for magical ability, and being found possessed of at least a tiny spark of arcane connection (or so he was told), was placed with the rest of the young adults set to learn the arcane arts. and failed. miserably. over and over again. Path seemed completely incapable of learning even the simplest cantrip.

magical abuse is much harder to trace and catch, especially when one seemed to have no magical talent in and of themselves. when the time for the trials of adulthood came, he was left till last. this humiliation was only salved by the fact that many of the other celebrating families had already left the arena, and did not see his last failure. unable to cast even a simple spell, he could not become an arcane archer-his childhood dream. in anger and humiliation, for even the judges had begun to leave, he pronounced the last words he ever spoke, "i will not speak nor utter another word till the day i die, unless and until that word is to cast a spell!"

of those that remained, all laughed him to scorn, save his family, and one judge. the one who had tried him for arcane ability, and been forbidden to tell Path the results. this judge assigned him to the outriding guardians, those few who had any sort of contact with the outside world, and were responsible not only the imports and exports that the hidden city had, but for keeping all strangers at a lethal bowshot's length away from the city. the guardians were the least prestigious of the organizations within the city. they were thought of by most as the dumping ground for the failed arcane archers-the elite city militia tasked with the defense of the city and surrounding lands in times of strife or danger.

to this day, he has not uttered a word. he seeks to hone his archery skills, to become a better archer than any arcane archer.

guardians are a more combat oriented class, honing what skills they can and focusing on the physical aspects of protecting their mountainous home. bound by a sacred tie to the land, they become fierce and loyal defenders of their homes.

so, that's the flavor and some of the history of one of my favorite characters. i was needing something that could meet the requirements for a cragtop archer (in keeping with his mountainous terrain) and a deepwood sniper (for the forests that cloak his mountain home. also something that would be good at fighting. so lots of skills, lots of feats-cause archers really need a lot to be effective, and lots of combat ability. and reasonable saves. ranger had the saves and combat and decent skills....

i didn't want him to gain any form of spellcasting-more for storyline's sake than anything else. so i nixed the spellcasting entirely. i wanted more skill points, so i bumped it up, figuring that this class would concentrate entirely on the physical. i didn't think i could justify lots of feats, so i settled for the rangers combat style progression, and noticed that the ranger had the good BAB and two good saves, so i went with a ranger variant template. so, basically, this was a blending of a munchkinly desire for "just the perfect class for my character", tempered by a healthy dose of "now let's make this interesting, but balanced".

see the attached file for the actual class game rules.

nijineko

05-19-2009, 11:12 PM

interested in feedback. ^^

tesral

05-20-2009, 01:48 AM

interested in feedback. ^^

Hold the mike closer to the speaker.:lol:

Sorry, doing modeling on the 1/1 house, saps energy. Reading big text blocks not in the near future.

Rook

05-20-2009, 09:07 PM

Made up a 1st edition character class called the elitesman, who had some of the abilities of a thief, a few monk-like skills, and fought on the fighter table. They were limited to short-swords, short-bows, and daggers for weaponry, could fight two-short style, couldn't use shields, and could only wear leather or magical/elven chainmail. Used them often as NPCs but would occasionally allow a player to create one as a PC.

templeorder

05-20-2009, 09:19 PM

hmmm, i made one once... where did that go....
see the attached file for the actual class game rules.

Cool, definitely ties the character to a locale, looks fun to play, but horrible if you have to go up against several of them defending an area from intrusion